Key enterprise applications, such as enterprise content management systems, include software applications and hardware solutions that capture documents and integrate them into high value implementations of business processes. For example, in the insurance industry, claims need to be processed efficiently throughout the insurance company's various local offices. A standardized claim form typically will have to be submitted by the insured party. The claim form may be scanned at a local insurance office and sent to a central office for approval and, if called for, payment of the claim. Local offices may not all have the same type of digital sending device or equipment to send the claim form to the central office for processing the claim form. Changes to the insurance companies claim-form-processing process may involve reconfiguration of the software and hardware that scans, parses, processes and transmits claim form data through the insurance company's business organization. Typically, these changes involve information technology professionals who reconfigure the company's set of digital sending devices, and other business hardware and software infrastructure.
Business analysts evaluate the various business processes and look for more efficient and cost effective ways of achieving the needed steps to provide the business service or function. Business analysts may develop more efficient, cost-effective processing methods by modifying the data gathered, and/or by modifying how that data is processed through various parts of the business's organization. These methods then may be explained to the relevant information technology professionals so that they can make the required reconfigurations of the business's hardware and software infrastructure to implement the methods.
Often, the translation between business analyst and information technology professional is difficult and communication is not always flawless. This may result in improperly configured hardware and software, thereby causing bugs in the process, or slowing implementation of the business analyst's methods.